The Membership Pavilion Committee, formerly the Booth Committee, has been charged with organizing volunteers and information for a booth at the ALA Annual Conference each year. The purpose of the Annual Conference Membership Pavilion has been to provide publicity for NMRT Services and activities, to recruit members, and on occasion, to raise money for projects. Quality Books has supported the committee for at least 25 years. The committee has handed out NMRT brochures and newsletters and has explained what NMRT, formerly Junior Members Round Table, did for members or how new members could get involved in ALA. Booth Committee members have raffled plants, held lotteries for one-year NMRT memberships, sold NMRT pins and T-shirts, taken photographs or provided backdrops for photographs, handed out NMRT ribbons, and held drawings for donated items. A slide show, and later a videotape, highlighting NMRT were shown at the Booth. For several years, the Membership Pavilion Committee also sponsored a Traveling Booth, which was sent to state conferences, workshops, and meetings. The Traveling Booth was widely used but often did not return. At least three times during the last 25 years the Traveling Booth was either damaged in transit or lost. The Traveling Booth was retired in 2001. Reference to the Traveling Booth was removed from the Booth Committee charge in 2003.

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The first Association Options Fair took place at Annual 2012. In December 2011, NMRT proposed that a group of Emerging Leaders research the feasibility of an ALA wide event modeled on the Professional Options Fair of previous years, hosted for the Spectrum Scholars Program. The project proposal was approved and the assigned Emerging Leaders group began research on this project. At the same time, 2011-2012 ALA President, Molly Raphael, appointed a task force to begin working toward the same goal, as part of her “Empowering Diverse Voices” initiative. The Emerging Leaders group joined forces with the task force, and the event was named the Association Options Fair. It was described as follows:

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In 2008, the Booth was absorbed into the ALA Membership Pavilion and sponsorship was no longer provided through Quality Books. Emphasis shifted from the setup and theme of the booth to promoting NMRT membership, highlighting NMRT events throughout the Annual conference with NMRT-themed giveaways beginning in 2009.

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''One of the most essential steps towards leadership development is to know the leadership and involvement opportunities that are available to you. The Association Options Fair, planned as an event at the Annual Conference, will provide new members with an opportunity to visit with Association, Division, Committee, and Roundtable representatives to discuss volunteer opportunities. By shedding light on the many volunteer opportunities available throughout the Association, it is hoped that more members can benefit from the leadership opportunities and experiences available through involvement and that more member groups can benefit from the contributions of members.''

Committee Charge

The NMRT Association Options Fair Committee plans and hosts the Association Options Fair at Annual Conferences. This event offers new members the opportunity to engage with Association, Division, Committee, and Round Table representatives and to explore opportunities for active involvement within ALA.

History of the Committee

The first Association Options Fair took place at Annual 2012. In December 2011, NMRT proposed that a group of Emerging Leaders research the feasibility of an ALA wide event modeled on the Professional Options Fair of previous years, hosted for the Spectrum Scholars Program. The project proposal was approved and the assigned Emerging Leaders group began research on this project. At the same time, 2011-2012 ALA President, Molly Raphael, appointed a task force to begin working toward the same goal, as part of her “Empowering Diverse Voices” initiative. The Emerging Leaders group joined forces with the task force, and the event was named the Association Options Fair. It was described as follows:
One of the most essential steps towards leadership development is to know the leadership and involvement opportunities that are available to you. The Association Options Fair, planned as an event at the Annual Conference, will provide new members with an opportunity to visit with Association, Division, Committee, and Roundtable representatives to discuss volunteer opportunities. By shedding light on the many volunteer opportunities available throughout the Association, it is hoped that more members can benefit from the leadership opportunities and experiences available through involvement and that more member groups can benefit from the contributions of members.

Major Responsibilities

Setting up and taking down a professional booth are no longer responsibilities for this committee. Instead the primary duties will be to coordinate and communicate with other committees, primarily Orientations; to assemble and distribute NMRT-related literature; to purchase (or to coordinate such purchase with other committees) NMRT-related badge flags and other items as needed to distribute; to visit the NMRT Membership Pavilion space during the conference to check on the supply of above.

Procedures Used to Accomplish Major Responsibilities

Collect handouts from NMRT Committee Chairs.
Contact the grant and conference committees.
Have handout materials from NMRT committee chairs sent to Kim Sanders, ALA Chapter Relations.
Purchase NMRT-related items (such as badge flags) for distribution.
Coordinate and communicate with Orientations (and other committees as needed) for distribution of NMRT literature and associated handouts.
Check on the NMRT materials frequently during each day of the conference.

Committee Composition and Term(s) of Office

One chair and one assistant chair (1 year appointment, Annual to Annual)
Committee members (1 year appointment, Annual to annual)

Reports to

Networking Director

Contact People for Accomplishing Committee Objectives

Chair and assistant chair work closely with the Networking Director as well as the current NMRT President, the Vice President/President Elect, and others whose responsibilities deal significantly and specifically with the Annual Conference (especially the Conference Coordinator). Chair and assistant chair contact Quality Books (918 Sherwood Drive, Lake Bluff, IL 60044-2204, 1-800-323-4241) and the Conference Manager (American Library Association, 50 E. Huron, Chicago, IL 60611, 1-312-944-6780). Chair and assistant chair also work closely with the Web Committee chairperson to create a web presence for the committee.

Publicity Needs

Publicity activities include maintenance of a web presence, messages to listservs, and articles in the NMRT newsletter, Footnotes.

Records Generation and Archiving Schedule

None available.

Forms Used by the Committee

Exhibitor Badge Order Form
Reimbursement Form
Online Report Forms: Planning, Progress and Final Reports

Documents to Create/Update (e.g. Flyers, Brochures, etc.)

Sundry informational sheets as necessary. Efforts are coordinated through other committees, however, to avoid duplication of efforts.

Reminders and Helpful Hints

It is helpful if the members of the committee who are able to attend Annual Conference to regularly check on the materials at the ALA Membership Pavilion.